Joy is closely connected with hope. When we read scriptures with the word “joy”, they’re often speaking of something exciting and hopeful, a good news that is here or is to come.
Here’s a fun secret… Jesus is the ultimate good news. Jesus is our source of joy. We rejoice that He was born. We rejoice at what He did for us on the cross. We rejoice that He is risen and alive.
“And they, after worshiping Him, [Jesus] returned to Jerusalem with great joy,”
Luke 24:52
If we are lacking joy in life, it’s safe to say that we are also lacking worship. The “miracle grow” for this fruit of the Spirit is to stay connected to the vine, stay connected to Jesus and to worship Him.
When we acknowledge all that He has done, does and will do for us, we humbly thank Him and Joy is a natural product of this.
How do we hold this position of worship and gratitude towards Jesus in our everyday life?
We can thank Him while we clean, work, run errands. And we can prioritize Him by setting aside devoted time where we give Him our full attention and affections. Here, we are positioned to remember and receive His love, then we are able to freely give love.
When we operate out of authentic love it literally grows our brain’s capacity for joy.
As we feed our spirit in this way it weakens our flesh. Naturally, the fruit of the spirit, joy, appears.
~ Amanda Santistevan
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